The concept of an egg breaker and egg white separator is well known. Indeed, this is a well-developed field and many prior art patent references are quite old. Many are designed for a commercial high-production setting. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 966,933 to George Lewis issued 9 Aug. 1910 shows an egg breaker and separator using a flat inclined chute 12 over which the broken egg must pass. U.S. Pat. No. 2,789,602 to Zagala issued 23 Apr. 1957 shows an eggshell breaker and separator in which a plurality of eggs may be positioned within a tubular container, the eggs successively broken and the yolk and white of the egg separated. Still others are designed for consumer use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,408 to Le Boeuf issued 18 Mar. 1952 shows an egg breaker and separator in which a trigger constricts a collar about the egg and breaks it with teeth. U.S. Pat. No. 1,409,649 to Becker issued 14 Mar. 1922 shows an egg breaker and optional separator with a squeeze handle breaker attached to an egg receiver cup. U.S. Pat. No. 1,611,541 to McCrocklin issued Dec. 21, 1926 and 2,505,717 to Nastrom issued 10 Mar. 1947 both shows tools for breaking and separating eggs comprising a hand-operated scissor device in which squeezing the handles brings opposing halves of an egg cage together to constrain the egg, and continued squeezing urges a breaker blade into the shell. The yolk remains in the cage while the white drains through. U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,823 to Vassallo issued 23 Nov. 2010 shows a trap-like device with egg-piercing teeth. To break and open an egg, the egg is placed in a cavity, and the tool and egg are rapped sharply against a hard surface, such that the shell of the egg is pierced.
Although the above-described egg breaking and/or separating devices are well-intentioned, none are capable of breaking and opening, separating the yolk from the albumen, and directing the egg white into a fry pan or pot, all with a single hand in mere seconds with minimal effort and maximum reliability. Indeed, the prior art designs make no attempt to extricate the yolk from the egg white, the result usually being a broken yolk and/or poor separation. This is largely because the foregoing designs fail to take a systematic approach toward disassembling the complex structure of an egg. FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the structure of a common egg. The yolk is supported within the albumin egg white and is suspended on opposing chalazae a pair of spring-like structures that project from the equatorial region of the vitelline membrane into the albumen. The chalazae act as balancers, maintaining the yolk in a steady position in the laid egg. The albumen is not of the same consistency throughout. This can be seen when emptying a fresh egg into a dish, the thinner, more watery, albumen spreads further than the thicker albumen which remains around the yolk. Within the unbroken egg, the same relationship occurs, the thicker albumen adhering to the vitelline membrane. To separate the yolk from the albumen, the yolk must be gently extricated from the albumen and isolated therefrom while the latter is drained, and then the yolk can be removed without breakage.